


The Benefits of a Roommate

by LittleDancer8



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Happy Ending, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:50:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26510164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDancer8/pseuds/LittleDancer8
Summary: Yuuri is a Freshman attending university in the US for the first time. He arrives at his dorm room to find that surprisingly, he hasn't been paired with a roommate. That is, until circumstances drop a gorgeous, silver haired Junior in his room for the rest of the year.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 14
Kudos: 61





	The Benefits of a Roommate

**Author's Note:**

> The rating for this chapter is for language. It will go up when I get to future chapters for planned smut. I have an outline on what each chapter will have in it. I considered making this a series because each chapter is going to be from a different point in time during their first year living together, but ultimately I decided to keep it all together. I hope you enjoy!

Yuuri slowly walked down the hall lugging his suitcase behind him and a box containing the rest of his belongings was precariously balanced under his left arm. He was surprised to find his name was the only one listed on the small white board that was plastered on the wall next to the door. It looked like he wasn’t going to have a roommate for his first semester after all. 

Yuuri wasn’t sure what he had expected when he opened the door to his dorm room, but it certainly wasn’t this. He knew the school was an older university and the buildings were also, well… old, but he had mistakenly thought that the interiors would have been updated in the past half century. The walk over the threshold was practically like walking through a time portal. Immediately to the left was the door leading to the bathroom. The room contained a single set of bunk beds shoved into the far right corner, the frame made out of chunky oak was nicked and gouged from use. At the foot of the bed was one desk, with the saddest looking excuse for an office chair pushed under it while the other desk was across from it. A chest of drawers was also across from the beds and a wardrobe was against the wall that separated this room from the bathroom. All the furniture was the same shade of “forgot that we are no longer in the 70’s” stained oak. The back wall had a single window in the middle with a more-than-outdated window air conditioner placed in it wheezing to keep up with the sweltering August heat. Signs covered the A/C unit with bolded instructions to never open the window. The carpet in the room was a dingy green that had lost all semblance of padding long ago and the walls were a dingy off-white.

Yuuri sat his box down on the desk at the foot of the bed and sighed. He pressed the button on the small black lamp next to his box and the dimmest of beams illuminated a spot the size of a dinner plate. He was going to need to buy curtains, a couple of rugs, better lamps, bedding and a mattress topper at least.

The next couple of hours were taken up by Yuuri going to the store to buy the new essentials, unpacking his things, and setting up the dorm to be a little more comfortable to live in. He claimed the bottom bunk as his and made it up with the purchased extra-long twin sheets, because apparently XL twin mattresses are a thing American universities decided they needed. Yuuri liked to cocoon when he slept, though, so he had opted for a queen size comforter instead. Blackout curtains were hung, a new lamp and some pictures of his family graced the desk at the foot of the bed, a couple band posters were hung up, a large, fluffy rug was placed in the middle of the room and some cheap fairy lights were draped around his bunk. It still wasn’t great, but at least it felt a little bit more like it would be a decent temporary home. 

The routine of the next couple of days was fairly quiet. Yuuri went to his classes, talked to a few people who seemed friendly enough, he ate at the cafeteria, used the dance practice room for as many hours as he possibly could get away with, studied, and then browsed the internet or played something on his 3DS at night in his room. He was prepared to spend a quiet Friday evening by himself when he opened the door to his dorm room and was startled to find a stunning man that was likely a couple of years older than him with long, silver hair looking at one of the posters he had up on the wall inside.

“Umm, hi… hello?” He spoke softly with a bit of uncertainty. He didn't remember there being an RA that looked like this for the building, and even with all of the commotion when he first got here he thinks he would have certainly remembered someone this attractive.

“Oh! You must be Yuuri!” The man said with what sounded like genuine excitement as he turned and flashed a beaming smile in Yuuri's direction. The piercing blue of his eyes pinned Yuuri to the spot.

“I… Yes?”

“I'm Victor, your new roommate!”

Victor closed the small amount of space between them in only a couple of strides. Yuuri could feel his cheeks flush at the thought of sharing a room with someone that looked like a literal god and he quickly pressed his arms to his side and gave a polite bow in greeting. When he pulled his eyes back up he saw that Victor had his hand extended towards him with an amused smile on his face.

“Oh, right. Handshakes here. I forgot.” Yuuri mumbled as he righted himself and quickly shook the extended hand. Victor's hand was warm and incredibly soft pressed up against his own. He was sure his own hands were beat up from his time on the barre.

Victor chuckled, “I think I like your greeting better. It’s cute and it suits you.”

Yuuri didn't know what to do with a compliment from his own family, much less a gorgeous stranger. He could feel the heat of a blush rising on his cheeks and he blinked up at Victor's shining eyes for far too long before he realized he still had a grip on his hand.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I can take down any posters you don't like and anything else really. We can put your stuff up instead. I didn't think I was going to have a roommate when I did this," Yuuri spoke frantically, gesturing to the items he had placed in the dorm after pulling his hand away. "If you want the bottom bunk, I can move, too."

Victor titled his head and blinked at Yuuri for a few seconds as if trying to piece something together. "Why would I ask you to move bunks? You were here first. And I actually quite like what you've done to the place so far, it's definitely much nicer than the room I was in before." 

At that Yuuri looked around for a box or suitcase containing Victor's belongings, but didn't see one on the floor, what would be his desk or on the top bunk.

"Where's your stuff?"

Victor frowned then and Yuuri immediately felt awful for asking the question that put it on his face. Someone so full of life and pretty shouldn't look that sad because of something he asked.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait for an RA to get it from my old room for me," Victor said in a much more somber tone than before.

Yuuri shuffled in place, not entirely sure where he should be looking, so he settled for the blue stripe in the rug at Victor's feet. "Umm, why?"

Victor sighed, the sound heavy and resigned. "I'm going to tell you something, Yuuri." 

Yuuri's eyes immediately snapped up to meet Victor's. He was surprised at the sudden shift in tone.

Victor shifted to stand taller, his chin tipping up a little more than it had been just moments before and his eyes seeming determined. "I'm gay."

Yuuri waited for several seconds, but there didn't seem to be anything else attached to the statement. He wasn't sure what would prompt Victor to share something that personal with him immediately, but his heart fluttered a little in his chest at being deemed worthy of that knowledge and he nodded. "Okay."

Victor's expression seemed impossible to read, the corners of his mouth were still pulled down and there was a slight furrow to his brow, but his eyes seemed softer. "Okay?"

Yuuri shifted and glanced away toward his posters, the several for his favorite band that had a lead singer that looked a lot like the man standing in front of him, before looking back at Victor. He wasn't really understanding what was happening in this conversation, but it seemed important to Victor. "Umm, is this a roommate trust thing? Am I supposed to share, too?" he asked just above a whisper.

Victor immediately burst into laughter that startled Yuuri, prompting him into taking a step back.

"You don't mind?" Victor asked with a small smile that made Yuuri's heart pound just a little faster.

Yuuri shook his head. "Why would I mind?"

"Oh Yuuri, I'm so happy that I get to be your roommate!" Victor sounded relieved and quickly moved forward to wrap Yuuri into a hug.

Yuuri let out a squeak of surprise from the sudden contact with his very beautiful roommate, his arms were pinned to his sides as Victor squeezed him tight, seeming to not want to let go.

Victor's body started to tremble against Yuuri's as he took in a shuddering breath. "That's why I don't have my things with me. I don't feel safe going back to my old room. My roommate… my previous roommate…," And then there were sobs wracking Victor's body as tears fell onto Yuuri's shirt, the droplets soaking through to the skin of his shoulder.

"Victor?" Yuuri whispered. He really had no idea what to do with someone crying, much less someone actually crying on him. All he knew is that he didn't want Victor to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Yuuri," Victor replied as he pulled himself off of Yuuri a few moments later and started to furiously wipe at his eyes. " I didn't mean to break down on you."

"I'll go get them."

"What?"

"Your things. Tell me what's yours and which room and I'll go get them."

Victor wiped at his eyes again and at least it looked to Yuuri like fewer tears were clinging to his silver lashes and streaking down his alabaster cheeks. He'd take that as a small victory.

"Yuuri, you don't have to do that. The RA for that floor is supposed to get my stuff later tonight after their last class, they gave me the key for here before they left for it just so I wouldn't have to go back by myself."

Yuuri shook his head again. He couldn't formulate into words all the reasons that he felt like getting Victor's stuff for him sooner rather than later was the better option, but he at least knew one he could say that would make sense. 

"I don't want your stuff to be destroyed."

* * *

And that's how Yuuri found himself outside of dorm room number 235 with a box at his feet, a hastily scribbled note outlining what belonged to Victor in one hand, and the knuckles of his other hand rapping against the wood of the door. The walk he had taken down the two flights of stairs to get to this floor had been filled with his silent anger toward this Adrian guy that had threatened Victor and made him feel unsafe in his own room.

Yuuri heard the door knob turn and the hinges squeaked as the door opened enough for a guy taller than Victor, at least six feet tall, to stand in the doorway. 

"Who are you?"

"I'm here to get Victor's stuff," Yuuri answered shortly with a glare.

"You aren't the RA for this floor," Adrian snapped back.

"The faster I get this done the less of a hassle it is for everyone involved."

"Fine. I don't want to look at that cocksucker's fucking shit anymore anyway. You have five minutes."

Yuuri pushed into the room and was immediately taken aback by the smell. Smoke seemed to cling to everything, even though the dorms were designated as non-smoking, there was a distinct, heavy, body odor stench and an acrid plume of aerosol body spray trying to cover everything else up. It just made it worse.

Yuuri quickly went to the bed that clearly was covered with Victor's sheets and duvet, stripped it down and put the bed clothes in the box, remembering to also grab the poodle plush Victor had told him was hidden between the mattress and the wall. He then grabbed the hot pink suitcase from under the bed and pulled the clothes out of the wardrobe to throw them into it. He knew Victor's things deserved to be treated better than this, they felt nice in his hands and they were all neatly hung up by color, but he was in a hurry and hoped that he would be forgiven for the hasty treatment. He then pulled open the top two drawers of the dresser and emptied them of their contents into both the suitcase and then the box when everything wouldn't quickly fit without being refolded. Last, he grabbed all of Victor's books and school supplies off the desk at the foot of the bed and put them in the messenger bag that was hanging on the chair before he slung it over his shoulder.

Adrian had loomed over him the entire time, huffing, spitting slurs, and just generally making his disgust for Victor known. Yuuri was seething inside by the time he got Victor's stuff out of the room and the door was finally closed behind him.

Yuuri was grateful that he was able to keep everything balanced, not dropping any items out of the box, in the climb back up to room 428. He had just set the box down to pull his keys out of his pocket when the door swung open to Victor's smiling face.

"Yuuri!"

"Hi," Yuuri said softly, feeling more than a little foolish when he realized that his hand was still reaching into his pocket. Yuuri had a feeling that he was going to constantly be distracted by Victor's gorgeous eyes and handsome face for the rest of the year.

"I can't believe that you actually got everything. Best roommate ever!" Victor exclaimed with a wink and then took the messenger bag and suitcase from Yuuri to pull inside. 

Yuuri followed behind him with the box and a blush high on the apples of his cheeks. "I think all of this needs to be washed," he mumbled as he set the box down on the floor next to their bunks.

"Yeah, I forgot to warn you about that. It just wasn't really the most pressing issue, you know?" 

Yuuri nodded, even though Victor's back was to him as he started to set up stuff on his desk. Now Yuuri really did know. He dug the poodle plush out of the box and looked it over now that he wasn't being rushed. It appeared to be well loved and was showing its age, the fuzz on the nose had been worn away at the top to show the shiny black underneath, the legs were floppy and the stuffing had seemingly long ago gone flat. He turned it around in his grasp so it would be facing out from him and took it over to Victor, extending his arms to hand the prized possession back over to its owner.

"Safe and sound," Yuuri said with a soft smile. Yuuri really hoped that Victor understood that applied to more than the plush. He wanted Victor to feel safe here.

Victor set down the notebooks he had pulled out of his bag and took the poodle from Yuuri with reverence, his hands brushing against Yuuri's in the transfer.

"Thank you, Yuuri," Victor said in a whisper, the telltale shining of gathering tears in his eyes. "I think this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"You need better friends," Yuuri blurted out before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He had just met Victor today and knew nothing of his friends, it really wasn't his place to say things like that.

Victor let out a chuckle. "I think you're right."

Yuuri looked over at the clock and winced. It was very unlikely that they would be able to wash and dry Victor's bedding before the laundry facility closed for the night with it already being so late.

"Do you want to borrow my comforter tonight? It's a queen. You could double it over to at least have something under you."

Victor's eyes seemed to sparkle even more. They really were the most striking blue that Yuuri had ever seen. 

"You're very sweet."

Yuuri quickly glanced away as his heart thudded, the way that Victor was looking at him was far too much, too open, too adoring. 

"Just want to help."

* * *

They had stayed up late that night. Victor had talked with the RAs about no longer needing someone to collect his belongings and turned over his old key. Yuuri listened in silence as Victor recounted his treatment by Adrian over the past several days, the names he had been called and the threats that made him flee the room he had been assigned. They discussed their majors and the classes they were each taking this semester, some of their likes and things they missed from their homes in other countries.

When it was nearly three in the morning, they reluctantly crawled into their bunks; Victor having finally agreed to take Yuuri's comforter with him for the night.

Yuuri listened as Victor shuffled on the mattress above him. The boards holding him up above where Yuuri was lying creaking with age. It had been several minutes of them lying in the darkness, the only noise being the constant whirring of the window unit when Yuuri heard Victor sigh and turn above him again.

"Yuuri?" Victor started quietly, as if trying to gauge if Yuuri was still awake.

"Hmm?"

"You know what you asked me earlier, about the roommate trust thing and if you were supposed to share?"

"Uhh, yeah?"

"You… you don't have to, but if you want to. I would be happy if you decided to trust me."

Yuuri felt the air being punched out of his lungs. "Oh…"

"Yeah, I… I just wanted you to know. I'm looking forward to being your friend and roommate."

"I am too," Yuuri rushed to say. 

The silence stretched out again as Yuuri just tried to breathe in measured breaths to calm himself down. Counting on both the inhales and exhales to silence his racing thoughts. Once he felt like he had his pulse back under control, he finally built up the courage to break the quiet.

"Victor?"

"Yeah?"

"I haven't told anyone, but I'm bi."

Yuuri could hear the gasp that escaped from Victor over the air conditioner.

"Thank you, Yuuri. I'll keep it a secret." Another pause.

Yuuri might be missing his comforter, but he felt warmth wash over him.

"Goodnight, Yuuri."

"Goodnight, Victor."


End file.
